NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: DAVE KEARNS ON NOVELL NETWARE TIPS 09/21/04 Today's focus: Messman: 'BrainShare doesn't do Windows'
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * Novell CEO goes after Microsoft * Links related to Novell NetWare Tips * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. So get up to date information about building a mobile infrastructure, dealing with security issues, the latest networking options, connectivity alternatives and operational support enhancements. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81446 _______________________________________________________________ DOWNLOAD THE LATEST SPECIAL REPORTS FROM NETWORK WORLD Focused reports on compelling industry topics, Network World Special Reports are available online at Network World Fusion. Network World Special Reports on Mobility, IP Telephony Security, the State of Wireless LANs and more are currently available. Download any or all of our Special Reports at: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81386 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Messman: 'BrainShare doesn't do Windows' By Dave Kearns It was d�j� vu all over again at Novell's recently concluded BrainShare:Europe conference in Barcelona. If you closed your eyes you might think it was the legendary Novell CEO Ray Noorda speaking instead of the current (and usually bland) leader Jack Messman. Messman took off after Microsoft as no other Novell CEO has done since Noorda was eased out of the company 10 years ago. Noorda thought Bill Gates was an inconsiderate pipsqueak and didn't mind who knew that he thought that way. After he left, a successor, Bob Frankenberg almost single-handedly ended Novell's holy war against Microsoft ( <http://www.nwfusion.com/archive/1996/96-09-09fran.html> ) as the company went down a path towards a peaceful co-existence. Until now. Messman walked out on that stage in Barcelona and told the crowd: "This year the BrainShare network doesn't do Windows, and neither do I." Predictably that drew a large cheer from the Linux-loving crowd who generally can agree about little except that Microsoft is evil. One difference between Messman and Noorda, of course, is that Ray thought NetWare was the weapon with which to beat Microsoft, while Jack has a different idea. Messman delivered a real stem-winder, at least for him. He's not known as a great public speaker, ranking somewhere below Gates and even Frankenberg, but Messman's statements such as: "It is our vision to create a world without information boundaries," did get the rabble roused, as did the reminder that Novell was going to put Linux on every desktop in the company. Still, if you ban Windows, isn't that raising an artificial barrier to information? Isn't that a boundary? Isn't that the antithesis of the open source movement? Shouldn't each of us - and each of Novell's employees - be allowed to choose the platform that best enables us to do what we want to do whether that platform is Linux, Windows, OS X, OS/2 - or NetWare? My favorite line from the speech, though, was when Messman said: "My vision is that companies won't have to spend so much on operating systems which have been commoditized and spend more on innovation." Evidently there's no longer room to innovate within the operating system. That should come as quite an eye-opened to Linus Torvalds and his inner circle. I kept waiting for Novell's PR folks to rush out a new interpretation of Messman's remarks as they had to do at the 2003 BrainShare in Salt Lake City when, in his keynote, Messman referred to Linux as an "immature operating system." But there was no clarification forthcoming this time, so we'll have to take his words as correctly reflecting corporate thinking at Novell. In that case, his last slide was telling. It said, in it's entirety: Novell = Linux + Identity While Novell is no longer a Utah company (its headquarters are now in Waltham, Mass.) it might reflect on the story of another Utah company which hitched its wagon to the Linux star. Caldera Systems was the driving force behind the creation of OpenLinux (an organization which included SuSE, I might add) a couple of years ago. That product floundered, so Caldera changed its name and chose a different path. You know them today as The SCO Group. RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Novell set to advance identity mgmt. package Network World, 09/20/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/092004novell.html _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Dave Kearns Dave Kearns is a writer and consultant in Silicon Valley. He's written a number of books including the (sadly) now out of print "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Networks." His musings can be found at Virtual Quill <http://www.vquill.com/>. Kearns is the author of three Network World Newsletters: Windows Networking Tips, Novell NetWare Tips, and Identity Management. Comments about these newsletters should be sent to him at these respective addresses: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Kearns provides content services to network vendors: books, manuals, white papers, lectures and seminars, marketing, technical marketing and support documents. Virtual Quill provides "words to sell by..." Find out more by e-mail at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. 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